Specifications:This is a circular image focus fisheye lens which captures, on film, a 180 degree view in all directions in a 22.08mm circle. In addition, it is useful for technical applications with solid angle measurement, such as the angle of view through the window with driver in the car or the pilot in the cockpit of an airplane. It accepts removable gelatin filters in a holder near the rear of the lens. The optical materials used in this new lens are lead and arsenic free ecological glass.

LMCaseyOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Dec 2, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 114

Review Date: Dec 6, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $450.00
| Rating: 5

Pros:

WIDE, Autofocus, Autoaperture

Cons:

Quite soft at the edges. Significant CA.

The Sigma 8mm is bound to be popular due to the extreme wide AOV, but it is lacking in other areas. I picked this lens over the cheaper alternatives because it was autofocus and autoaperture. After using the lens for a while though, you come to the conclusion that you can use it completely successfully in manual mode (manual focus and in Av mode). The depth of field is incredible even at large aperture. The max aperture of f4 is just a bit disappointing seeing that the diagonal fisheyes are 2.8 lenses. The lens is sharp in the center, but suffers at the edges. In addition you get a blue ring surrounding the image. On Canon cameras, the image is not centered on the center of the sensor (this may or may not be an issue for you). There is good resistance to flare. CA is plentiful, and you will probably want to implement some type of software solution. Light falloff is very, very noticeable as well; once again, a software solution is necessary. For general purpose photography, this lens is a bit disappointing, especially for the price. If I were to do it again, I would probably opt for the cheaper Peleng fisheye.

Not enough lens for $450.

Dec 6, 2005

jhapemanOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Sep 20, 2004Location: United StatesPosts: 2007

Review Date: Oct 12, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $609.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Only lens of it's kind that is AF. Sharp and great color. Very resistant to flare.

Cons:

Could be a bit sharper.

This is a specialty lens that you won't use often. For that reason, it could seem expensive, but lets face it, there is no other option in this class. Great on the 1.3x and FF cameras. Some cropping on the 1.6x that to me ruins the whole point of a circular fisheye, but you may have a different opinion.

Great control of CA and flare--the lens does very well in these areas, better than many other ultra-wide lenses. The color saturation is really lovely--the images look like you have a polarizer on the lens.

My opinion about this lens is ambivalent: This is the only full AF circular fisheye on the market with full stop functionality. The image circle is cropped by APS size chips, but this is not an disadvantage, the field of view is still breathtaking.
On the other hand the image quality is good only at the center and poor at the rim.
The lens suffers from severe color, the red and blue parts of the image are larger than the green part. Less important is the bluish rim itself. The sharpness decreases visibly from center to the rim.

Dec 15, 2003

apsphotoOfflineBuy and Sell: On

Registered: Sep 1, 2002Location: United StatesPosts: 641

Review Date: Sep 25, 2003

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $450.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Great quality for a circular fisheye, well made.

Cons:

Needs to be stopped down for best results.

Great quality for a circular fisheye, use at hyperfocal distance focus is not necessary, great depth of field. Well built, well worth the money if you are looking for this type of lens. Some lightfall off at the edges but that is to be expected, and it is easily corrected. Recommended.

Sep 25, 2003

SectarianOffline[ X ]

Registered: Jan 26, 2003Location: United StatesPosts: 1888

Review Date: May 4, 2003

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $450.00
| Rating: 8

Pros:

Compact and inexpensive for a 8mm fisheye. Almost no lens flare.

Cons:

Some chromatic abberation, vignetting. Very poor focus mechanism.

There are few options out there for 8mm fisheyes. The Sigma stood out for its availability and compact size. I am pleasantly surprised by the performance of this lens. It is probably a good idea to use manual focus with this lens. The main positive is that unlike other fisheyes the front element is almost flat which greatly reduces lens flare. For the relatively low price this lens performs quite well.